Montana State women extend winning streak to 17
POCATELLO, ID. — Montana State’s Marah Dykstra recorded a career-high 29 points, including 18 in the second half as the Bobcats flexed its muscle in the fourth quarter en route to a 74-60 win over Idaho State on Saturday afternoon in Reed Gym.
Montana State (24-2, 14-0) captured its 17th straight win, matching the MSU single season record for consecutive victories with the 1987-88 and 2019-20 Bobcats.
“Marah was shot ready,” said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. “Idaho State did a nice job taking the paint from us, so we were able to get Marah into some pick and pop situations and she got the hot hand.”
Idaho State (9-15, 4-9) jumped out early taking a 10-2 lead in the first five minutes, but the Bobcats responded with a 14-4 run as Katelynn Martin’s free throws at the 2:28 mark gave MSU its first advantage at 16-14.
Dykstra’s triple as the third quarter ended gave MSU a 52-49 advantage heading into the final frame.
MSU opened the final quarter on an 11-4 run capped by a Natalie Picton steal and lay in with 5:33 remaining giving the Cats a 63-53 lead. A pair of Picton free throws with 1:04 left gave the Bobcats its largest lead of the contest at 74-58. Picton finished with 13 points, three assists and a career-high six steals
Weber State 73, Montana 69
OGDEN, UT — Down 17 entering the fourth quarter, the Lady Griz staged a furious rally that had them pull within one with nearly two minutes to go, but the Wildcats did enough late to sneak out a 73-69 victory
“Really proud of our fight down the stretch to come back and cut it to one,” said interim head coach Nate Harris. “Our spacing in the second half was great, our energy and the way we attacked were great. That’s stuff we have to build off of.”
After spotting the Lady Griz an early 11-2 advantage, the Wildcats scored 19 straight points to build a 21-11 lead, a lead they would never give back.
Weber State (10-13, 7-6 BSC) shot 9 for 15 in the first quarter, hitting four of its five shots from the 3-point line, and led 25-16 after 10 minutes.
It was the third straight loss for the Lady Griz (10-15, 6-8 BSC), who now find themselves in sixth place in the Big Sky standings with two weeks of the regular season to go.